


A Softer Shade Of Blue

by lukeloops



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Character Study, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Light BDSM, M/M, Multi, This fandom deserves a bit of happiness ok, ace!spectrum Ginoza, potential polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-05-30 15:00:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6428962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukeloops/pseuds/lukeloops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place throughout and after Season 1, with a couple of plot differences to alleviate a couple of canon deaths *nervous laughter*</p><p>Akane wants everyone around her to be content. But her naive altruism isn't enough to prepare her for a whirlwind and frankly dangerous workplace romance, she's going to need more weapons in her arsenal.</p><p>Kougami wants Akane, and he wants his old friend back, and he wants his revenge. Sooner or later, he'll have pick which is most important to him. And give up on the others.</p><p>Ginoza just wants to live a quiet life. Do his job, keep his head down, forget the past.</p><p>The three of them have more in common than they realise, but time is running out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

Three Years Before

 

“All I’m saying is, we’d by done with this whole fiasco by now if you weren’t sticking to the rule book like a baby to its mother’s teats.”

 “At least I’ve read it.”  
Ginoza wrinkles his nose at Kougami’s words, but remains calm as he toys with his tinned noodles that are about as appealing as the breastfeeding analogy. He’s a master of not appearing outwardly phased by anything.

 Kougami, on the other hand, might as well have a holo-projector displaying the words _I’m pissed_ above his head in a revolving speech bubble.

 With a sigh, Ginoza pushes his bowl and chopsticks to the side and taps the surface of the com-device on his wrist.  
“Inspector N Ginoza. Clock out.”

 “Successfully recorded. Have a good night.” The com-device beeps and then shuts itself down. Ginoza pockets it as he stands, rubbing the red mark left on his wrist.  
Kougami copies his lead, flinging his own com-device unceremoniously into his messenger bag. It’s almost three in the morning; hardly a surprise that the canteen is deserted apart from them.

 Ginoza places a hand on his colleague’s broad shoulder. “Try not to let it get to you.” He says quietly, even as he knows it’s futile. Kougami and Ginoza, they’re one and the same: both obsessive. Work is more than work, it’s a compulsion.

 Kougami shrugs the other inspector away, anger flaring in his eyes. “Don’t put that crap on me Ginoza. I thought you knew me better.”

 The fist he doesn’t remember consciously making occupies the sudden space between them, loud and heavy.

 “Do it.” Ginoza still speaks quietly. “Take your anger out on me, if it’ll make you feel better.”

He’s not antagonizing his colleague- _friend-_ on purpose. Well, that isn’t his primary intention, at least. He knows how much Kougami gets hung up on failure- scoring less than a 95 in school, letting a suspect give them the slip, it’s always the same for Shinya the perfectionist. Better he loses it now and smashes a bowl of canteen dregs than he comes back at eight in the morning still armed with a hair-trigger temper and breaks himself or one of the Enforcers.

 Kougami’s gaze is flicking between his raised fist and his fellow inspector’s face. Ginoza doesn’t blink.

 After several long moments, Kougami exhales and lowers his fist.  
“One of these days I’ll do it you know.” He cracks a smile in spite of himself.

 “And I’ll probably deserve it.” Ginoza grabs his coat from the back of the chair. “See you in a few hours.”

 Kougami nods, eyes meeting Ginoza’s. A look of understanding. More than that. Gratitude, but tinged as always with resentment.

 It’s something Ginoza often wants to talk about, but whenever his mouth opens his tongue seems to dry out and shrivel up. And the next time their eyes meet this way, the next time he gets the opportunity to try and say it, it’s after Sasayama’s death, when Kougami is registering his fingerprints and having his retina scanned, ready to start his new career as an Enforcer.

 

Part One

 

“ _When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating_.” Kougami snatches the book from Akane’s hands to continue reading the back cover. “ _Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find she wants this man, and excited when she realises that Christian wants her too._ That sounds like absolute trash. I mean, if you’re gonna hide prohibited books, at least pick something with magic in it.”

“Hey, that’s evidence!” Akane snatches the book back and drops it in a clear bag. “We’re here to do a job, not critique the target’s choice of reading material. Act professional.”

“Or what?” Kougami cocks one eyebrow. “You’ll throw the book at me?”

Kagari, sitting cross-legged on the floor behind them labelling a pile of evidence bags, snorts with laughter.

Akane sighs, but the corner of her mouth twitches all the same.

 This is grunt work really, but it’s all part of the job. They apprehended a criminal yesterday who was smuggling contraband items, and now have the comparably tamer task of cataloguing, transporting and destroying all of the illegal pre-Sibyl books that were hidden in his apartment. A job easily delegated to the Enforcers, but she has to accompany them anyway to supervise them.

 “No way man!” Kagari holds up one of the evidence bags to inspect the contents. “One of the _Star Wars_ novels, and it’s got to be an original! Two centuries old!”

 “And?” Kougami folds his arms, unimpressed. “We’ve got lasers, and flight technology. What’s the point in fantasy if it’s all real? Now wizards, I can really get on board with that. No Dominator can compare to a magic wand that can do anything you can imagine.”

 A cough from the other side of the apartment reminds them that Ginoza is leaning against the wall typing rapidly into his com-device and glaring disapprovingly at them. “This isn’t a social hour. Try and stay focused, we’re almost finished.”

 Akane looks quickly down at her hands, which are now holding _Murder In The Cathedral._ But when she next sneaks a glance at Kougami, he’s watching her out of the corner of his eye, and the corners of his mouth are twitching upwards also.

They’re back at HQ and finishing what Masaoka affectionately calls ‘paperwork’ even though office admin has been entirely electronic for fourty years at least, when Kougami puts a hand on the desk next to her and leans over. Akane looks up and immediately blushes at the close proximity of their faces.

 “I have books.” Kougami says quietly. “Real ones I mean. And approved, don’t worry. You could swing by any time you wanted to take a peak, maybe even borrow something.”

 Akane chooses her words carefully, trying to sound casual. “Yeah. I’d like that. I haven’t read genuine fiction since… well, since school really.”  
  
“Then you’re in for a treat.” He grins. “Like I said, come by any time.”

“Thank you.” Akane waits until the Enforcer has returned to his own desk before covering her burning face with her cool palm, his scent lingering and making her report suddenly several times harder to proof-read.

 

 

She’s the last one to leave the office, and is just shutting down the terminals when she realizes that there are people conversing outside in low voices. Not wanting to interrupt, Akane leans against the door to wait until they’ve finished. And recognizes Ginoza’s voice.

“Do you need me to remind you which part of your contract explicitly prohibits you from engaging in non-professional conduct with an Inspector?”

 “No.” The second voice is Kougami’s. “You really don’t. _Inspector.”_

“Very well then, _Enforcer._ I trust I won’t need to report you for such behavior any time soon.”

Akane bites her lip as it dawns on her that Ginoza is most likely referring to her. Is she a bad influence? Is she going to get Kougami in trouble because her inability to stop herself blushing and smiling like a schoolgirl whenever he’s near her?

 “That’s hardly fair now.” Kougami is replying cooly. “I keep your secrets. You owe me one.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Says Ginoza, stiffly.

 “Yes you do.” There are two footsteps, as though Kougami is closing in on Ginoza. “You know, your Dad wants grandkids more than anything else in this world. When are you going to break the news to him that it’ll never happen, what with you being gay and all?”

 Akane holds her breath. She should not be listening. She should _not_ be listening.

 There is silence for almost a full minute. Then one lot of footsteps as one of the men walks away. Almost another minute later, the other leaves too. Only then does Akane slip out of the office, trying hard to forget what she just heard.

 

 ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Kougami’s book collection is pretty impressive. Akane lets out a whistle as she scans the alphabetized shelves.  
“Where do you even find the time to read so much?” she asks.

Kougami leans against the wall and drains his coffee. His laugh sounds a bit like a bark.  
“I work, and I train, and if I’m not doing those then I’m here. Nights are pretty long you know.”

Akane bites her lip. It’s easy to forget that her colleague is as good as a prisoner, the Ministry as good as a prison.  
“Do you get lonely?” she asks quietly.

He shrugs. “There are people here that count as friends. I keep busy.”

She doesn’t know how to answer that, so she balances on tiptoes to take down the collected works of Kafka, a name she vaguely recognizes.

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“Do you get lonely, Akane?”

Kougami is looking at her as he reaches in his pocket for a cigarette and a lighter, putting one between his teeth and the other to its tip, the grey in his eyes many, many layers deep.

“I don’t understand the question.” She says finally.

He takes a long drag and exhales, raising his eyebrows and looking her up and down. “You’re, what, twenty? You’re basically a puppy. You should be playing outside while you’ve got the energy.”

Akane isn’t sure if she’s supposed to feel insulted, or just kind of sad. “I like my life.” She says slowly, defensively.

Lunch once a fortnight with the girls, always politely turning down their invitations to go clubbing. Visiting her parents once a month, her grandmother roughly the same frequency. Going home to Candy and a news broadcast or some music over dinner for one. Occasional ventures into the Commufield, which all too often end in strangers proffering cybersex, which she refuses with the same politeness as the clubbing.  
And this building. These faces.

“Yeah.” She re-affirms. “I’m happy with my choices.”

Kougami lets out another bark of laughter, flicks the butt of his cigarette expertly into the nearest ashtray, turns to her again. “You should start with Vonnegut. Still not exactly light romance, but I reckon you’ll like his stuff.”

He reaches over her to select a couple of books. Akane steps back out of his way- and manages to trip over her own feet. Flailing for something to grip and stop herself from falling over, her hands find purchase in white material.

Kougami’s shirt.

His hands, which had risen instinctively to shield her, are now resting on the wall above either of her shoulders.

Far, far too close for comfort.

 

 ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

“So you say that the Sibyl system can’t find a match for you?” The therapist peers at Ginoza over the top of his screen, keeping a professionally blank expression, but his intonation gives away his surprised disbelief.

 “That’s correct, yes.” Ginoza fidgets in the over-stuffed armchair. He knows what path they’re heading down, and he really doesn’t understand why it’s relevant.

 “Then I would recommend trying out one of those old-fashioned networking apps, the ones where you rate a person’s looks and self-summary, and if you both rate each other high enough it reserves a table at the closest coffee bar so you can meet.”

 “Why would I do that?”

 The therapist raises his eyebrows, not even trying to be expressionless anymore. “Surely you don’t need me to explain the psychological benefits of socialization and sexual activity.”

 Silence.

 “Do you dispute the evidence? Or are you simply reluctant to help yourself?”

 Ginoza takes his time cleaning his glasses and putting them back in place before training his gaze on his feet and clearing his throat. “I went to a club six months ago, in the shadier end of the city. I used a false name and paid in cash. A person wearing a completely black holo- not even facial features discernable- appeared and led me to a private room upstairs where they ordered me to strip and attached my wrists to restraints hanging from the ceiling, and then lashed both sides of my torso with some sort of whip until I bled, whereupon they uncuffed me, applied medifix to the wounds and gave me a voucher off my next visit.”

 “I see.” The therapist is now taking rapid notes. “Did you enjoy this experience?”

 “It felt good to… not be in control. But I don’t like anonymous settings, so I never went back.”

 More notes. “Well, such activities are not criminal _per se_ , so there is no real harm in it, if that’s what you wish to use as an outlet. However, you should be weary of clouding as a result of exposure to violence.”

“Like I said, I never went back.”

 

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************** 

_I shouldn’t want this._

Akane looks up from Kougami’s lips to see that he’s staring down at hers. His eyes seem to be burning.

 _I should step backwards_.

Her feet don’t appear to be moving. That’s not helpful.

_Professional conduct. Think straight!_

But those smouldering eyes and the proximity of his arms either side of her make that incredibly difficult.

“Akane,” Kougami breathes, “I’m going to close my eyes, move my hands and count to ten. To give you a chance to run away before I jeopardise your career.”

Where would she go? A step back would only press her against the wall, and then she’d be even more trapped.

Not the worst thing in the world.

“Five.” Kougami counts aloud. “Four.”

She holds her breath, watching his lips shape the numbers, willing herself to flee.

“Three. Two. One.”

The tip of her tongue moistens her lips. _No, what are you doing?_

“Zero.” Kougami opens his eyes.

It takes perhaps three seconds for him to register that she hasn’t moved, and then his hands are grabbing her hips to hold her to him as their lips meet.

It’s not soft, nor particularly sweet, and there’s no romantic string music soaring around them. Definitely not how she pictured her first kiss. Kougami’s lips are rough, chapped, tugging the breath out of her throat and replacing it with the scent of cigarette smoke, which she inhales with a gasp. One hand slides from her hip to the small of her back, inching slowly downwards, the other grips at her more tightly.

“I want you,” he murmurs huskily,trailing his lips over her jaw and to the side of her neck. “I tried to hide it. But now you know.”

Akane closes her eyes and tilts her head back, spine seeming to shiver at his words. It takes all of her inner strength to exhale slowly and place her palms against his chest, signalling for him to stop.

Kougami steps back, rubbing the back of his neck, looking concerned. “I’m sorry.” He mutters. “Too forward.”

Akane is aware that her face is incredibly hot as she says, “You haven’t done anything wrong. I’m just a bit out of my depth here.”

He nods in understanding, not meeting her eyes.

“I should go, it’s late.” Akane smooths down her skirt. “Thank you for the coffee, and the reading material.”

“Anytime.” Kougami shakes himself out of it and cracks a smile. “But what I said… You don’t need to worry that I’m gonna pounce on you as soon as you let your guard down. Good dogs understand when their owners tell them _no._ ’

Akane gives him a quick hug and hurries to her car. All the way home, the places where their bodies made contact seem to be burning. She turns on the shower and strips, noticing that her underwear is slightly damp.

Facing Kougami tomorrow is going to be… interesting. She wonders how best to tell him that she means _not yet_ , but she certainly doesn’t mean _no._


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You thought this was gonna be a slow burn fic, didn't you?
> 
> nope.

Ten years ago

“I did it! Nobu-chan, look!”

Shinya jumps down the concrete steps, waving the data card he’s holding in the air. All around, the rest of their class are celebrating, lamenting or disbelieving their results of the aptitude test with wide eyes and clapping of each others’ shoulders.

Nobuchika is leaning against the rail at the bottom of the stairs, clutching his own result card. He’s the only one not to be yelling or sobbing, and the only one with his tie done up perfectly. He looks up as Shinya lands beside him.

“Ministry of Welfare, here I come!” Shinya grins triumphantly. “You too right?”

His friend nods, adjusting his glasses.

“You could look a bit pleased Nobu-chan. We got the top results of the whole year you know.”

“Yeah.” Nobuchika is staring thoughtfully at his data card again. “I was just thinking... I want to join the PSB.”

Shinya wrinkles his nose. “I thought you’d be going for a nice comfy desk job, not waving a gun.”

The other ignores the dig, concentrating hard on his knuckles gripping tightly at the data card. “Field work won’t be any more dangerous for me than it will for you. Besides, it means that if my dad is... still alive, I might get to see him again.”

Around them, the shouting of their classmates fades into a blur, the courtyard suddenly seeming a million miles away.

 

Part Two

When Akane enters the office, she’s not expecting to find Kougami and Kagari wrestling in the space between the desks.

She surveys the scene, her mouth falling open in alarm- in no way assuaged by Masaoka chuckling.  
“Don’t worry, little Missy, there won’t be any permanent damage. Sometimes you just gotta let them get it out their systems.”

“What are they even fighting about?” Akane eyes the two Enforcers wearily.

“You.” Says Yayoi, without looking up from her screen.

“Huh?”

“I’m defending your honour!” yells Kagari from the floor, where Kougami has him in a headlock with a knee pressed to the small of his back. “And anyway, Pops started it!”

Akane doesn’t have time to formulate a question before the two of them spring apart and resume their seats, just in time for Ginoza to arrive. The office instantly switches back to professional mode, although Masaoka is still chuckling quietly to himself.

There’s an unread email in her inbox. From HR.  
“An invitation to the annual Ministry dinner?” she reads aloud.

“Wow!” Kagari’s sarcasm is evident through his mock excitement. “An evening of stilted small talk with the top brass? I sure wish I could be an inspector!”

Akane pulls a face. A message from Ginoza pops up in the corner of the screen.

**I regret to inform you that such functions are compulsory, and every bit a waste of time as they sound.**

She lets out a sigh.

 

************************************************************************************************************************** 

 

“Dress shopping?” squeals Yuki. “Do you have a date?”

“Nothing like that,” Akane says quickly, watching Yuki and Kaori’s faces fall in unison. “Just a formal work do. And I’ve gone off holos- you’ve seen the things we have to wear while on duty.”

Yuki nods sagely at the thought of the overly-friendly animated characters that disguise the identities of officers on the beat, and then asks, “So do you have a date?”

Akane rests her cheek on the table and groans before answering. “I told you, it’s a work thing. There are lines that you don’t cross.”

_Except that I kissed Kougami. But you don’t need to know that._

Dress shopping is actually less interesting than proof-reading incident reports, but at least it counts as a social activity. Akane vetoes multiple numbers that leave her feeling more naked than if she were wearing nothing but a holo, and eventually agrees on a dark purple, knee-length dress with long sleeves. It’s not particularly low-cut, and it’s not like she has to worry about it being figure-hugging when she doesn’t really have a figure.

“You look hot.” Announces Kaori. “But in a classy way.”

“Yeah.” Yuki agrees. “Classy hot.”

 

***********************************************************************************************************************************

 

It’s a hell of a week. She barely gets a second to speak to Kougami. Ginoza grows visibly more stressed. By the time Friday evening rolls around, and she realises that she’s been seated next to him at the dinner, Akane is terrified of the prospect of having to make polite conversation.

“Tsunemori.” He nods. “You look… different. Nice.”

“You too,” she smiles, taking in the subtle changes to Ginoza’s usual outfit; a black velvety waistcoat, polished cufflinks.  
She’s introduced to the inspectors from divisions two and three, and a man not much older than her who works in cybersafety with a rather attractive face but absolutely nothing of interest to say. Akane toys with her wine glass while she listens to him drone on- she wants to drain it, but that’s probably bad manners.

“I wonder why the Chief isn’t here?” Ginoza muses out of nowhere.

Akane scans the table and sees that he’s right.  
“Maybe she’s that paranoid about her hue that she never leaves her office, in case she gets contaminated.”

Ginoza chuckles.  
Akane tries not to let her jaw drop as she stares at him.

“Is there something on my face?” he asks, confused.

“No, I just…” Akane tries not to sound too rude. “I’ve just never even seen you smile before now, and we’ve been working together for over a month.”

“Really?” he murmurs, and seems to disappear into thought.

Akane’s com-device beeps, saving her from a rather uncomfortable silence.

**Enjoying the party?**

The corners of her mouth twitch. Kougami knows full well that she’s been looking forward to this about as much as a child looks forward to seeing the dentist.

**I’ve heard some incredibly stimulating conversation. So much so that I’m starting to drool.**

He types back almost instantly. **This is valuable time you could be spending with Vonnegut.**

She wants to blame the next two words that she types on the wine. But she’s not even drunk.

**Or you.**

Akane bites her lip and glances quickly back up. Cybersafety guy is now hitting unsuccessfully on one of the inspectors, Risa was it? Beside her, Ginoza is staring vacantly into the wine glass in front of him, which, she notices, is untouched.  
It’s difficult to tell what he’s feeling- assuming he’s capable of feeling anything at all- but even hiding behind his glasses, his eyes are obviously tired. Tentatively, Akane nudges his shoulder.

“Mr Ginoza? Are you on the weekend shift?”

“Hmm? No.” He pushes his glasses back into place. “I was planning to put in some overtime tonight though, slip off as soon as the speeches are over and done with.”  
Her concern must be visible because he fixes her with a stern gaze and says quietly, “I recommend you don’t waste time worrying about it.”

She wants to bite back, _why not?_ but this is neither the time nor place to start an argument, and anyway there is another message from Kougami.

**Swing by when you manage to escape?**

Somebody is offering to refill her glass of wine. Akane drains it in one.

 

 

By the time she manages to leave, she’s completely sober again, and a little nervous.

_It’s just a late social call. It’s not even that late, it’s what, ten?_

But that doesn’t stop Akane from knocking timidly on Kougami’s door, even though her Inspector privileges would allow her to waltz right in.

He answers shirtless with wet hair, the bastard. “Hey. Didn’t think you were coming.”  
As he steps aside to let her through the door, she has to draw her elbows in close so as not to brush his chest.

“So how was dinner?” Kougami sprawls down on the grey sofa and lights a cigarette and _he must know that he’s sexy he’s got to be aware of it._

She perches on the edge of the matching grey armchair. “Pretty tasty actually.”

“I bet.” His eyes are roaming up and down her form. “So you’ll wear a dress for Gino but not for me?”

Akane crosses her arms and legs self-consciously. “I wore a dress because I wanted to look nice. There’s no need to wear one just to come and borrow books.”

“Oh, is that what you’re doing here?” Kougami cocks an eyebrow.  
Is he trying to wind her up on purpose?  
“It looks nice on you. Very nice.”

Lots of people have complimented her this evening, but Kougami is the only one to make her blush and stare at her knees.

“Sit closer to me, Akane.”

Feeling like a robot, she rises, crosses the small room, sits stiffly down again. Kougami reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and the tension in her muscles seems to evaporate.

“I was reading Pope. Have you heard of him?” Akane shakes her head, and Kougami gestures for her to lean into his shoulder as he picks up the book that lies open on the coffee table. His slightly rough voice makes the ancient poetry sound all the more beautiful as he reads aloud, and Akane feels sure that she could fall asleep listening to him, were it not for the fact that the hand not clutching the book is tracing circles on her knee, circles which inch slowly upwards and make her wish he’d kiss her again.

She lets her fingertips brush against the skin of his forearm. Warm. The outlines of firm muscle. With some trepidation, she moves her fingers sideways to touch his abs. A droplet of water falls from his still-damp hair onto the back of her hand.

Kougami stops reading, lets the book slide to the floor as his hand moves to cover hers. “Have you had much to drink?” he asks.  


“Barely anything.” She replies.

“Good. You should always be capable of making decisions.”

Then she’s on her back and Kougami is hovering over her and their lips are colliding.  
He tastes familiar now, and it’s moreish. Akane’s hands link behind his neck to pull him closer, and he responds with a grunt and a sharp nip to her lower lip. It occurs to her that he could easily crush her with his weight, and she resolves to work out more, but then Kougami’s mouth is attacking her neck and she stops thinking.

“You smell good,” he sighs, licking a path from the base of her throat to her ear, catching her earlobe between his teeth. Akane whimpers at the alien sensation and, independently of the rest of her body, her knees separate to invite Kougami to press his whole body close to hers.

He takes her up on the offer eagerly, one large hand wrapping around her thigh and pushing up her dress, but then stills. Akane frowns, wondering what she’s done wrong.  
Kougami draws back a little so he can look at her. His face is flushed.  
“In all honesty, it’s killing me to stop.” his voice is a little hoarse. “But you’re inexperienced. I don’t want to push my luck and scare you.”

Akane takes stock of the situation. She’s on her back, short of breath. He’s shirtless, with a knee wedged between hers, leaning against the back of the sofa, dragging his rough palm slowly up her thigh.   
Every nerve ending in her body is crying out for something she can’t identify.

“How else am I going to get any experience?” she asks without looking away.

Kougami grins and captures her mouth again, his hands sliding under her back to pull her into a sitting position. She marvels at the feeling of his strong arms around her, but it’s all too brief.  
“You asked for it.” He’s pulling away to kneel in front of her on the floor. “Sit tight.”

“W-what are you going to do?” she asks nervously.

Kougami is pulling off her shoes and tossing them carelessly away.  
“You’re too hot to be so innocent,” he tells her with another bark-like laugh, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to her calf as he tugs her underwear away. “What I’m going to do, is eat you out until you’re struggling not to scream, and then I’m going to fuck you. If that sounds alright.”

“Um, yes?” Akane stammers, trying to formulate a sentence, but her brain seems to have switched off in the heat of the moment _._  
It must show on her face because he laughs again, then throws her legs over his shoulders and gets to work.

Akane runs her fingers through his hair, grabbing fistfuls as she feels his tongue right _there_. She’s tried this once or twice with her own clumsy fingers, out of curiosity, and never really liked the results, but Kougami seems to know exactly what her body wants and is pulling no punches. When his movements build up speed, Akane finds herself pressing a hand to her mouth to cover a moan.

He pulls away to look up at her, eyes and lips both glistening. “Close?”

Akane nods, not trusting herself to speak.

He flashes a lewd grin, and then his mouth is attacking her again, this time with the addition of fingertips circling her entrance. Akane suddenly realises that she’s aching inside, and her hips buck involuntarily, but he continues to tease, and the tension builds in her stomach like a coiled spring.

“Please”, she breathes, not even really knowing what she’s asking for, but she needs it, needs _him_ , and finally Kougami’s finger sinks inside her and starts to flex, and she bites down hard on her first.

“More?” he rasps, licking his lips.

Akane nods again, feeling almost desperate- and he sucks hard on her clit as he thrusts a second finger inside, and she’s whimpering, gripping his hair like she'll fall if she lets go as she pushes his head down without even realising it, and then her eyes are rolling back and her muscles are going slack as she tumbles over the edge.

Kougami is breathing heavily as he drags his teeth across the skin of her inner thigh, still thrusting his fingers in and out of her, milking her climax until it rolls straight to a second peak. Akane is pretty certain she’s bitten the inside of her cheek, tasting blood as she groans through gritted teeth, nails digging into her palms.

“Kougami”, she pants, grabbing his wrist to still him, “I...”

He’s chuckling, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, coming up to kiss her heatedly.

“It’s not too late to stop.” He murmurs against her cheek.

Akane closes her eyes, bathing in his body heat, knowing full well that this is wrong, so wrong.

“Don’t stop.” she whispers, wiping a bead of sweat from his collarbone with her thumb.

He wraps his arms around her again with a grunt, and she finds herself straddling his lap. “You can control how deep I go from here,” he explains, before peeling her now-crumpled dress away from her skin and pulling it over her head.

Akane looks at him looking at her, realising that her weight is resting on something hard. She reaches out to caress his chest, running her fingers down his abs, to the waistband of his sweatpants.  
“I don’t know what to do.” she says quietly.

“It’s alright.” Kougami takes her hand and places it on his shoulder, then the other one. “It won’t hurt.”

He kisses her again, tongue parting her lips to explore her mouth, and she tastes what must be herself, and he’s fumbling between them for a moment, before his cock is filling her and he’s biting down hard on her shoulder.

He’s not wrong, it doesn’t hurt. It is kind of uncomfortable, but Akane takes note of the twitching of his hips beneath her and copies the movement, and it feels sort of satisfying.

“Yeah.” he groans. “Like that.”  
He tugs at her bra to expose her breasts and sets his mouth on them greedily. Akane closes her eyes again, digging her nails into his shoulders as he sucks first one nipple and then the other, starting to move faster.

When she opens her eyes again, his grip on her is tightening and there’s a sheen of sweat on his brow.

“I won’t last long,” Kougami mutters almost apologetically, but that doesn’t seem important.

“I don’t care,” she answers, and leans forwards, feeling him sink deeper inside her.

“Fuck…” he’s biting at her chest again, bucking his hips frantically against hers, and just a few seconds later he lifts her off him and she gets a glimpse of his solid, twitching cock for the first time before covers it with his fist, practically mashing their mouths together as he comes, stroking himself slowly, his whole body jerking.

“Fuck.” Kougami exhales again. Akane slides off his lap, and suddenly feels incredibly exposed. She retrieves her underwear and tucks her breasts back into her bra, noting the toothmarks and the red splotches.

“Embarrassed?” She looks up, half-in her dress now, and sees Kougami reaching for a cigarette, wiping his hand carelessly on his sweatpants. “There’s no need to be.”

“I…”

Embarrassed isn’t the word, no. But what was a guilty pleasure a few moments ago, a delicious, desperate sin, is now a reality. One that’s sticky with sweat and… other things, and definitely not allowed, according to their terms of employment.

“I’m resisting the urge to check my hue and see if its clouded,” she half-jokes, slumping back onto the sofa.

Kougami chuckles, but it’s humourless. “Nah, I wouldn’t worry if I were you.” he exhales a cloud of smoke and fixes her with a piercing gaze. “Because you never cloud, do you?”

“How do you know that?” Akane blurts out, and then bites her lip, wishing she’d denied it instead.

“We all worked it out, one by one. Gino was the first, then Shion. I was the last in fact.”

She feels uncomfortable. And it has nothing to do with the crescent-shaped marks on her skin or the slight stinging between her legs.

“I need a shower,” she announces, trying to change the subject.

“Me too.” Kougami stretches, muscles rippling. “Care to join me?”

She’s blushing again, despite everything that’s just happened. “Another time.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” He winks, and watches her gather her bag and coat, slip her sensible black ballet pumps back on.

“See you on Monday. And… thanks.” she kisses him chastely and makes for the door.

“Akane?”

She turns. He’s lighting another cigarette.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Kougami-san.” She smiles until the door closes behind her, but then the smile slides off her face and she keeps her eyes down as she hurries out before somebody spots her. There’s definitely a light on several floors up, where their office is, so she sticks to the shadows, remembering that Ginoza is probably there working.

 

“Miss Akane, you have a missed call!” Candy announces, as soon as she’s through the door.

“Who from?” Akane kicks off her shoes, throws her bag onto the coffee table.

“Yuki Fanahara!”

“I’ll deal with that tomorrow,” she groans, heading for the shower.

Under the hot water, she realises how much tension there is in her leg muscles. Bruises are forming on her thighs.  


“I mustn’t do that again,” Akane tells herself aloud, sternly. But she remembers the glint in Kougami’s eyes as he cocked his eyebrow and asked her “ _more?_ ” and she fights back a smile.  
Wrapped in her fluffy yellow dressing gown, she makes peppermint tea, curls up in her bed, and opens the collected works of Kurt Vonnegut at the page she reached before falling asleep last night.

 

 

 


	3. Part Three

 

Two years ago

“Don’t you have a home to go to?”

“Don’t you?” Ginoza retorts as he sits heavily down at his computer terminal.

It’s late, well past shift end, and Kougami is sitting in the office with his feet propped up on the desk, staring at the same set of blurry photographs that have been occupying his attention for hours. For weeks.

“I have a cell.” He answers coldly. “It’s not quite the same.”

The silence becomes frosty, as it does every time the two of them exchange words, since what Ginoza refers to mentally as ‘The Downfall’.

He’s hoping to get on with his work uninterrupted, but as five minutes pass he can feel Kougami’s eyes boring into the back of his head, and then something more solid.

“hey!” he turns around to see Kougami in the process of aiming a second stylus to throw, but he puts jt down and returns Ginoza’s stare.

“You have a life you know.” He says quietly. “Or you could have.”

“That’s not your business.” Ginoza interrupts, retrieving the stylus missile from under the desk and placing it neatly in a holder.

“I’m just saying. You’re not confined to this tower. Unlike me.”

Ginoza resumes typing, doesn’t reply.

Another stylus clips him on the ear.

“What?!”

“Why are you punishing yourself?” Kougami demands. “Why do you work so hard to make sure that no-one else in the office can even bear to be around you?”

Ginoza doesn’t turn round as he says icily, “If I’m that unbearable, then there’s the door. Go back to your cell.”

Kougami’s shoes make a squeaking noise as he sweeps them off the desk and stands, striding over to where Ginoza still resolutely has his back turned.

“You must secretly enjoy it,” he muses, leaning against the Inspector’s shoulder.

“You’ve nothing to gain from antagonizing me.”

“Oh, but I do.” Kougami’s breath is warm against his ear. “See, I’m an angry criminal that’s locked in a tower and full of pent-up emotion. You’re a self-loathing sadistic ball of tension. I can see this working.”

Ignore it ignore ignore it _ignore it._

“I bet you’d love it if I pushed your face against that desk and fucked you right now.”

“Stop it.” Ginoza stands so abruptly that Kougami almost topples backwards. _Stop reminding me of what we could never have, even if you weren’t a-_

Aloud he says, “You’re crossing a line, Enforcer.”

He switches off the monitors with slightly more force than necessary and swings his bag over his shoulder. No point trying to continue working here.

“You may not want to let me be your friend Gino,” Kougami shouts after him, “but we don’t have to be enemies! We’re still on the same goddamned side!”

Ginoza walks quicker, doesn’t look back.

 

 

Part Three

 

“Mr Ginoza?”

He looks up from the long, boring email that he’s reading. Tsunemori is in front of his desk, holding a cup of coffee. Real, from the smell.

“Here.” she holds it out to him. “I thought you might appreciate this.”

“Thank you.” He accepts the cup, somewhat surprised. She smiles, and returns to her desk. Kougami’s eyes flicker in their direction, watching her behind as she walks.

It makes him slightly nauseated.

Nobody else is really working- in fact, the four enforcers have dropped all pretence and are playing poker using Kagari’s stash of sweets as chips. Such is the nature of a quiet Monday day-shift. But Ginoza’s made it his duty to proof-read absolutely everything that gets written, since Tsunemori is still a rookie, after all.  
He glances over at her, now perusing a hard-copy of some case file or other, and then back to the steam rising from his cup of coffee. Why is she being nice? Does he look as though he needs pity?

Probably.

“Damnit.” Masaoka pushes his jellybeans onto Kunikuza’s already large pile. “I’m all out.”

“We could always start playing with clothes?” Kagari suggests. “Akane, you wanna join?”

“No thank you,” she replies without looking up.

“Or you could bet the screws in your arm, that’d keep you in for a few more rounds.”

“Knowing when to quit is an important part of life.” Masaoka smiles indulgently and stretches as he stands.

_Really now?_

Out of habit, he pulls up the graph documenting the Enforcers’ co-efficients on his screen, and zeroes in on Kougami. There’s been a spike over the weekend, but no change in colour.

“Y’know, you could probably learn something there too, Inspector. It wouldn’t kill you to take it easy.”  
Ginoza looks up and sees that Masaoka is now in front of him, wearing a half-companionable, half-concerned expression that he has no right to wear.

“It’s a job. I do it.” he replies coolly. “Somebody has to.”

Masaoka glances over his shoulder to make sure the others aren’t paying attention before speaking. “You’re just making work for yourself, double checking everything like that. The young missy is more than capable, you know, so you don’t need to shoulder everything on your own.”

“Is that so?” Ginoza returns his focus to the report in front of him, signalling that the conversation is over. But he looks up again as his father walks away.

_More than capable. Huh._

 

_*************************************************************************************************_

 

“I don’t get it,” he sighs, scratching behind Dime’s ears. “She’s a newbie, and she turned down psych support, so if anyone’s vulnerable it’s her. But apparently I’m the one that needs to be babysat.”

Dime barks and rests his head on the sofa cushion.

“You’re right. I’m being childish.” Ginoza brushes dog hair off his knees. “Tsunemori’s just fortunate, or maybe she thinks that her co-efficient is going to stay like that forever. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong to be cautious.”

Dime gives him a look that seems to say, _you have better things to focus on than being hung up over the new girl already being better at your job than you, like the fact that Kougami seems to be getting himself into trouble all of a sudden._

“I don’t see why that has to be my problem too. Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

 

************************************************************************************************

 

“So I heard you declined to see the in-house therapist,” he says by way of a greeting.

Akane steps into the dingy little suite as though she belongs there, as though she’s seeing Kougami for the first time since Friday night rather than two hours ago when shift ended.

“I don’t need to.” She shrugs. “My crime coefficient hasn’t changed, and I’m not showing any signs of work-related stress.”

“Yet.” Kougami hands her a cup of coffee and seats himself a respectful two feet away, on the other end of the couch. _The same one we fucked on._  
“What do you think of Vonnegut then?”

They talk about Slaughterhouse Five and the little fragments of world history that still survive, drink coffee. At some point their hands brush and she starts drawing little patterns on his palm with her fingertips. Her face looks softer when she’s off the clock.

Innocent.

Akane sets her now-empty cup down on the table and starts fiddling with his lighter. He watches her, waiting for her to say what’s on her mind.

Eventually, “Was it a one-off? What we did?”

Kougami takes the lighter out of her hands, and grabs a cigarette. Once his lungs are full of smoke, he meets her gaze and answers, “It doesn’t have to be, if you don’t want it to.”

Her eyes widen.

“But you know the risks.”

 _You know that I’m bad for you. If you end up falling for me, then everything will turn to shit and you’ll only have yourself to blame.  
_ He doesn’t say this aloud, of course.

“I checked the monitor, your crime coefficient rose after we… on Friday night.” Akane says softly. “It went down again but there are cameras outside, it wouldn’t take long for someone to get suspicious and realise you spike when I visit you.”

“Sibyl the cock-block.” He chuckles darkly to himself. Akane frowns at the expression and she’s so goddamned _innocent_ that he actually gets angry, so he stubs out his cigarette into the ashtray with more force than necessary and kisses her with even more force, pushing her down on the sofa and snaking his hands up her sides.

She’s willing. Needy. Little whimpers escape from between her lips when he carelessly tears open her blouse to kiss a rasping trail down her sternum. She’s stupid to let a dirty criminal anywhere near her body. As if to prove it, he marks her chest with his teeth again, just because he can.

“Shinya,” she whispers, squeezing her eyes shut.

Nobody uses his birth name anymore. He isn’t Shinya Kougami, he’s Enforcer Kougami, and they can drink coffee and talk about literature until the cows come home but the fact remains that he’s so perfectly _wrong_ for her, for even wanting her. He curls two fingers into her hot, tight opening, thumb pressing against her clit, and she starts to moan, loudly, so he clamps his free hand over her mouth and leaves it there until she’s finished.

He wonders if he should tell her that she looks beautiful.

Akane sits up and puts one of her small hands to his cheek. “Teach me how to do that to you,” she requests in a quiet, shy voice.

He can’t help but laugh.  
“It’s not exactly difficult,” he tells her, unbuckling his belt.

She’s clumsy, tentative, but he can’t remember the last time he was actually touched, and his eyes drift shut but he fights it, wanting to watch her, engrain her in his memory. He finds himself biting back a groan when her lips brush the head of his cock, and he threads his fingers into her hair for encouragement, barely resisting the urge to push her head down.

Kougami’s com-device starts beeping. He ignores it, feeling himself reach the point of no return, and he should warn her, but _please don’t stop_ and her hair is soft against his sweaty,calloused palms and _oh god he’s coming oh god._

To her eternal credit, Akane doesn’t gag in surprise. But her eyes are watering a little as she draws back, wiping her mouth.

“Scan me.”, he pants.

“Huh?”

“Now. Do it.”

Akane brings up the scanner on her com-device and it beeps as it registers him, showing his current data alongside his last scan. She frowns, and then frowns harder.  
“Your co-efficient is spiking again, but your hue… it’s cooling down. Blue-green.”

He wasn’t expecting that, and neither was she it seems, because they both stare wide-eyed at one another for a few seconds. And then her com-device beeps shrilly. She fumbles to answer it.

“Inspector Tsunemori.” Ginoza’s voice. “I know that you’re not on the night shift, but this requires as many pairs of eyes as possible. I’ve already sent an alert to the Enforcers, transferring you my location now. There’s been a murder, but not just any old case- the body is on display in public and the area stress level is dangerously high.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” She ends the call and looks at him again. “Who would do that? Display a body in public?”

Kougami taps his own com-device to read the message he’d previously ignored. He doesn’t answer her.

But there is only one person who’s ever done something like that.

And he’s still out there somewhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little note:
> 
> I am trying to portray the relationships here as unhealthy but NOT ABUSIVE. Kougami's treatment of Ginoza in the flashback is something like the way he goaded the murderer in the factory drone episode, in which he had an ulterior motive, although it still seemed quite nasty.  
> As for Akane, she's 100% aware of the ramifications of having a sexual relationship with Kougami, so he's not taking advantage of her. He's rough with her, partly because that's how he likes it, and partly because he doesn't want to encourage her to want to be with him, but he can't say no to his own desires. I think he resents her a little for being so nice when he's a latent criminal, and believes she deserves better, and is torn between wanting to be mean to drive her away, and wanting to please her and give her everything he can.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akane begins to understand more about the Enforcers and their pasts. Kougami thinks he's following a scent. Ginoza asks the internet about women because they're confusing.

_Hey, guess what? Since we last spoke, I lost my virginity to one of my colleagues and now I think maybe we’re fuck buddies or something, but I want it to mean more than that. Thing is, we can’t exactly go on dates or anything because he’s kind of a latent criminal._

Yeah, no. She can’t talk the girls about this. But she needs to talk to someone, which is why Akame is in the Analysis lab.

“So, what can I help you with?” Shion Karonamori lounges in her chair, stiletto heels up on the desk, cigarette dangling from her mouth. Akane is astonished that the woman doesn’t drop ash down her cleavage.

“Well...” she fiddles nervously with the buttons on her sleeve. “You’ve slept with men as well as women, right?”

“Are you asking my opinion on which is better?”

“No, I- I was just wondering if all men are... you know, _rough_.”

Shion raises one eyebrow. “You hooked up with Shinya.” It’s not a question.

Akane doesn’t agree, but it must be showing on her face, because Shion swings her long legs down from the desk and flips her hair,.

“Honey, I’m called an analyst for a reason. If you can’t tell your girlfriends then it means its someone in the PSB, and you’re still only familiar with our division. Shuusi wouldn’t be able to keep a secret like that, in fact he’d boasting about it. That leaves Gino or dear Kou. Doesn’t take a lab technician to guess which one of them is rough in bed.”

“Ginoza’s not into women anyway,” Akane adds, and immediately claps a hand over her mouth. “I am not supposed to know that.”

“Hmm.” Shion begins to file her already-immaculate nails. “What an interesting tidbit. So-" she fixes Akane with a gaze that makes the younger woman feel sort of naked- “you want to train the brute to give tender touches? Good luck with that.”

“I just...” She sighs, realising how stupid she sounds. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this, especially since it’s against Sibyl’s rules, but I don’t want to _not_ carry on, either.”

“Understandable.” Shion nods. “He’s quite the talented man.”

Akane’s eyes widen, and the analyst smirks and adds, “from old gossip, not experience. No need to get possessive.”

She can’t help but sigh, a little relieved.

“Listen, kiddo, it’s my philosophy that a woman should take everything she can get, if its what she wants, and to hell with what anyone else thinks. So if you wanna see him again then see him again- and keep in mind that he’s the dog and you’re the master. Your terms.”

“Right. I’m in charge. Got it.”

 

 

************************************************

 

 

“I want to be a Dad one day,” announces Kagari, apropos of nothing. He leans back in his chair, taking note of the blank stares coming his way. “I think I’d be good at it. Really good, in fact.”

“You’re a basically still a child.” Yayoi reminds him. “Even if you were a member of normal society, you’d barely be able to look after yourself.”

“No fair!” Kagari sticks his tongue out at her, then folds his hands behind his head. “You watch. I’m going to become the first Enforcer to ever earn redemption, and then I can get a good job and live inn apartment above ground, and I’ll be able to find myself a wife.”

Yayoi snorts, but Masaoka is scratching his chin thoughtfully with his metal hand. “You know, that might not actually be ridiculous. We’re all labelled as beyond help, but the research into rehabilitation is making leaps and bounds. I read the research papers sometimes.”

“See?” smirks Kagari triumphantly.

“Although, as an old man who’s seen a lot, I reckon it’s a benefit to society that you’re sterilized.”

“Hey!”

 

Half-listening to the conversation, Akane touches a finger subconsciously to the space below her navel, where she received a painful injection when her mother took her to the nurse aged nine, to close up her fallopian tubes until she was old enough- and granted permission to- have children. The nurse explained that before this, women had to take pills to try and stop themselves getting accidentally pregnant, and would bleed from their genitals every time their ovaries released an egg. That sounded decidedly worse than a needle.

A message from Ginoza pops up on the monitor. **Special assignment. I need you to keep an eye on Kougami until this case is closed.**

 **Understood.** She doesn’t need to ask any questions. Because in front of her, after hours of digging, is the complete file for the Specimen Case.

 

“Say what you want, but you’re missing out by not being able to marry me.” Kagari is now saying to Yayoi.

“I really doubt that. Come on, we’re going to be late for group therapy.”  
Still bickering, the two Enforcers exit the office, leaving Akane alone with Masaoka. He scoots his chair across the aisle to join her at her desk.

“What’s up little Missy? You’re even quieter than usual today.”

She’s going the maths in her head. Kagari is too young to have worked under Kougami, but the others must have done so.  
“Mr Masaoka?” She asks tentatively. “What was Mr Kougami like as an Inspector?”

“Ah.” The man nods in a knowing fashion. “So you found that out, huh? Well, he was much the same as he is now really. Still more like a wolf on a hunt than a man on a mission. The only difference was that he didn’t insist on always working alone.”

Akane chews her lip as she mulls this information over, and then queries, “Are all latent criminals sterilised?”

“Yup. There’s no proven genetic link, but growing up in institutional care because your parents are confined to a secure facility is enough to turn any kid into a latent criminal.”

“I had no idea.” What else doesn’t she know about the Enforcers? About Kougami? Maybe he’d be looking to start a family now if his criminality wasn’t broken beyond repair. The thought of him coming home to some woman makes her stomach tug at her chest as though trying to digest her lungs.

“Humour an old man for a minute.” A metal fingertip touches under her chin, turning her head towards Masaoka.

“I had a wife once,” he says quietly, the gravel in his voice perhaps turning to dust. “She had eyes like yours, wide and brown and always able to see the good in people. I tried to paint her recently, but I couldn’t get the eyes right. Not kind enough.”

She holds his gaze until he’s looked his fill, then reverts her gaze to her lap. “I didn’t know that either.” she murmurs.

“I have a son too. A few years older than you. I hoped he’d get her eyes, but he has mine.”

“Does he visit you?”

“He won’t acknowledge that I’m his Father.” The old man is shaking his head, eyes misty. “And I can hardly blame him. But I know that he’s damn smart and in a respectable career, and I’m sure that he’s learnt from my mistakes. That’s enough for me.”

The silence that follows seems weighted, weighted by things that Akane knows she’s too young to understand, parts of the world that she has yet to see in her quiet, comfortable twenty years.

_I’m a rookie in more than just my job._

“I have to go and find Mr Kougami.” She stands, smoothing down her skirt, and Masaoka seems to shake himself out of a deep reverie. “It was nice to listen to your story. Tell me more tomorrow.”

She kisses his cheek and then walks away, leaving the old Enforcer to sink back into his memories.

 

 

Kougami is lurking in one of the empty office rooms downstairs- a small, square grey thing, not unlike the rooms that the Enforcers live in. Judging from the news reports and photographs pinned to the wall, he’s been using this as his private workspace for some time.

“Hey.” She pads softly across the room to where he’s seated at the desk, steel eyes burning a hole in the case file in front of him.  
Kougami nods but doesn’t look round. Akane rests her head on his shoulder, indulging herself in his scent.

“I… I read that file. The specimen case. I know that you think this is linked.”

“Don’t you agree?” Still not looking at her, but his arm slipping absently-mindedly around her waist.

“I don’t know.” She admits. “I’m not ruling it out. But I think you’re biased- which is understandable, considering what happened.” This last is added quickly, as he laughs entirely humourlessly.

“So why are you here? Are you on my side?”

It’s not a question she’s prepared to answer.

Akane touches his jawline, forcing him to look at her. Kougami looks like he hasn’t slept.  
“I’m worried.” she admits quietly. “That you’re going to get in too deep and your hue is going to cloud.”

“Occupational hazard.” He draws away from her touch, linking his fingers behind his neck. “There’s nothing you can do.”

There is though. She thinks of Monday night, and the words come out as though she was thinking it before she even came here. “Have sex with me again.”

“Hmm?” Finally his attention shifts properly from the file to her. “What was that?”

 _Blushing again? Really?  
_ “I… I want to have sex with you again Kougami.” She doesn’t have to try hard to make it sound convincing. But it feels kind of like she’s lying.

Kougami’s face splits into a grin- probably at her awkwardness more than anything. “Well, you only have to ask,” he smirks, and then she’s being lifted onto the filing cabinet and he’s kissing her furiously, pushing her skirt up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“Here.” Two fingers press into her mouth and she almost gags in surprise. “No time for the foreplay, but I’ll make it up to you double next time.” Kougami winks as he withdraws his now saliva-coated fingers from her mouth and pushes them down below instead, before unbuckling his belt. “You feel like you’re ready for me anyway.”

Is she? She doesn’t feel aroused, and it isn’t particularly nice, not without the time taken to kiss and touch like before. But it might help him, so Akane buries her gasps of discomfort in his shoulder where he can’t see her face and lets her mind wander. She wonders what it would be like to do this in an actual bed, to be completely naked with each other and stay there for a while afterwards, maybe the whole night, without distraction or the need for secrecy…

The fists she’s made in the back of his shirt tighten, as though trying to pull him physically closer. She realises why her words felt like a lie- it’s not the sex, it’s the proximity of their bodies, his arms around her, his undivided attention. _That’s_ what she wants.  
Kougami takes her clutching at him as a sign to thrust harder, faster, and it hurts less now but his grip on her waist is almost painful. _I don’t care. At least he’s holding me._

“Can I come inside?” he breathes into her ear. “Please, let me come inside.” She nods and he bites at her ear with a growl, increasing his pace, holding tighter. Akane leans her head back and closes her eyes, wanting him to climax but not wanting him to let go. Because there might not be a next time.

“You feel so good,” he mumbles into her neck as he comes, “you feel so goddamned good.”

She doesn’t.

 

 

Fifteen minutes later- locked in a toilet cubicle with a wad of tissue clenched between her thighs- she opens up the monitoring software used to keep track of the Enforcers’ emotions. Kougami’s crime co-efficient is too high for the spike to really register. His Hue is greener than it was three days ago, indicating an increase in aggression- but the current reading is lighter than the previous by two or three shades.

A temporary decrease in stress.

Now she feels good.

 

 

 *************************************************************

 

 

“Information.” He says to the black cube on the bedside table, which beeps to indicate that it’s ready for his request.

“Female sexual satisfaction.”

Ginoza’s never bothered with an AI interface for any of his technology. Why give a computer a face? And right now he’s a little glad of his own preference- it feels more private, more anonymous, than asking an animated puppy or cactus for the information.

The black cube beeps its affirmation and projects a 3D hologram of a female body into the air in front of him, littered with detailed annotations. Ginoza sits up and reaches forward, turns it round before zooming in to read the advice on the back of the neck.

Of course he’s seen a naked woman before- on TV, and on the stainless steel autopsy table. Pornography is at best disinteresting and at worst disgusting, knowing that it’s somebody’s job to sit and draw beads of sweat onto the heaving planes of holographic skin that can surround the consumer in seconds, winning their bread by impossibly augmenting and polishing every angle until the holo-dolls barely seem human, simulating sounds of pleasure through voice software so that the whole scene is as fake as the bodies.

The figure in front of him is less a fantasy and more of a blueprint. Ginoza touches a fingertip now to the label by the knee.

 

**Another little-known sensitive area. Ideal for light kissing during massage, but beware of tickling sensations, particularly if you have facial hair.**

 

Why on earth would you kiss the back of someone’s knee? For that matter, why would you want to have facial hair?

His fingers manipulate thin air again to examine the chest. Nipples are nothing foreign. Do the breasts feel firm like muscle, or just like cushions? He has the curious mental image of foam stuffing.

 

**Like all body parts, breasts vary greatly in size and appearance from person to person. However, the number of nerve endings will always be the same, and so smaller breasts are more sensitive.**

 

Tsunemori has a relatively small chest, he recalls, at least in comparison to the other female staff. Kougami definitely used to express an inclination towards larger ones, but this doesn’t seem to make him less attracted to Tsunemori.

This is so confusing.

 

**The lips and tongue can be used to stimulate the chest area as well as the palms and fingers. In some cases, teeth can be appropriate, but proceed with caution, and perhaps ask your partner if they enjoy this before attempting.**

 

_Teeth?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was hard to write. Having sex that you're not into to try and fulfill romantic desire is not recommended.  
> Seriously Akane, he's not good for you.


End file.
